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Executive Summary for March 21st

We review the key developments in Syria, including Russia reportedly training Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, the U.N. testing land routes for aid deliveries to Qamishli and a renewed rebel offensive on the capital.

Published on March 21, 2017 Read time Approx. 2 minutes

YPG Says Russia Training Kurdish Fighters in Afrin

The Syrian Kurdish YPG said on Monday that Russian forces are training Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, according to the Associated Press.

YPG spokesperson Redur Xelil told Reuters that Russian forces had already arrived in Afrin, a Kurdish area in the northwestern countryside of Aleppo. He did not say how many troops had been deployed, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said some 100 special forces had entered the area.

Russia’s defense ministry confirmed that Russian forces had been deployed to the area, but denied Xelil’s claim that Moscow was setting up a military base in northwestern Syria. However, it said that a part of its “Center for Reconciliation,” which Russia says is used to negotiate local truces and monitor violations of the current cease-fire, was located in the area.

The YPG is a major U.S. ally in the fight against the so-called Islamic State group in Syria, but it is also considered a terrorist organization by Turkey. Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Turkish deputy prime minister Numan Kurtulmus said that Turkey would not accept a “region of terror” in northern Syria, reportedly in reference to Syrian Kurdish forces.

U.N. Testing Land Routes for Aid Deliveries to Qamishli

The United Nations is conducting a trial run for a new land route for humanitarian aid deliveries to the predominantly Kurdish city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria on the border with Turkey, Reuters reported.

The World Food Programme (WFP) and the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) “are in the process of sending humanitarian assistance by road as a trial from Damascus or Aleppo through Manbij to reach Qamishli,” according to the minutes of a March 16 logistics meeting published on Monday.

The delivery is the first of its kind to be carried out by U.N. agencies. “Both agencies have submitted a request to the (Syrian) Ministry of Local Affairs and are awaiting approval,” the minutes said.

Syrian Rebels Launch Offensive on Damascus

Rebel forces began a new offensive early Tuesday morning, advancing on a major road that leads to the capital, in an attempt to retake positions in the eastern outskirts of Damascus from which they withdrew on Monday, Reuters reported.

Syrian state-run media said government forces repelled a rebel attack on a textile factory location north of Jobar, an opposition-held area on the outskirts of Damascus. Lebanese Hezbollah, which backs Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, said rebels also detonated a car bomb targeting a Syrian army position, adding that clashes are ongoing in Jobar, according to the Associated Press.

Tuesday’s attacks are a continuation of Sunday’s surprise offensive by Tahrir al-Sham, a coalition of rebel and jihadist factions led by al-Qaida’s former affiliate in Syria, against government positions in eastern Damascus. Pro-government forces regained control of the area by Sunday night. Government forces retaliated with heavy airstrikes on Jobar.

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